sextillion

noun

sex·​til·​lion seks-ˈtil-yən How to pronounce sextillion (audio)
often attributive
US : a number equal to 1 followed by 21 zeros see Table of Numbers
also, British : a number equal to 1 followed by 36 zeros see Table of Numbers

Examples of sextillion in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Or, to put it another way, 200 sextillion. Brian Jackson, The Conversation, 20 Sep. 2021 Transmogrified Planets About half of Mercury’s mass—2 sextillion pounds or so—would be usable in the form of the elements oxygen and iron, Armstrong reckons. Adam Hadhazy, Popular Mechanics, 7 Mar. 2023 Less than one in about 600 sextillion, in fact, Cronin says. Natalie Elliot, Scientific American, 23 Nov. 2021 This endless search for information is costing businesses productivity, and this challenge is only growing due to skyrocketing data volumes — 59 sextillion bytes in 2020 alone. Marc Vontobel, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2021 The team found that upper ocean waters contained 234 sextillion, or 1021, joules more heat energy in 2020 than the annual average from 1981 to 2010. Todd Nelson, Star Tribune, 16 Jan. 2021 Intel and Micron emerged, and since then, humans have made more MOSFETs than any other artifact in our species’ history—over 13 sextillion, or 13 followed by 21 zeroes. David Lumb, Popular Mechanics, 9 Dec. 2020 About half of Mercury's mass—2 sextillion pounds or so—would be usable in the form of the elements oxygen and iron, Armstrong reckons. Adam Hadhazy, Popular Mechanics, 30 Oct. 2020 But, Loeb says, such objects are probably numerous, with perhaps 60 sextillion similarly sized rocks launched outward by a single star. Nadia Drake, National Geographic, 16 Apr. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sextillion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

French, irregular from sex- (from Latin sex) + -illion (as in million)

First Known Use

1690, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sextillion was in 1690

Dictionary Entries Near sextillion

Cite this Entry

“Sextillion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sextillion. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sextillion

noun
sex·​til·​lion sek-ˈstil-yən How to pronounce sextillion (audio)
US : a number equal to 1 followed by 21 zeros see number
also, British : a number equal to 1 followed by 36 zeros see number
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